Paternal microbiome perturbations impact offspring fitness. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38693261/)

These scientists wanted to understand how the bacteria in the gut of male mice could affect the health of their babies. They found that when the gut bacteria of the male mice were disturbed before they had babies, their offspring were more likely to be born with low birth weight, have growth problems, and even die prematurely.

The scientists discovered that changes in the gut bacteria of the male mice could affect the health of their babies through their sperm. By giving the male mice antibiotics or laxatives that disrupted their gut bacteria, the scientists saw that the risk of health problems in their offspring increased. However, when they restored the normal gut bacteria of the male mice before they had babies, the offspring were healthier.

The scientists also found that the changes in the gut bacteria of the male mice affected their reproductive system, including how their hormones worked and the substances in their sperm. This, in turn, affected the development of the placenta in the female mice carrying their babies, showing that the health of the offspring could be influenced even before they were born.

In simple terms, the scientists showed that the bacteria in the male mice's guts could impact the health of their babies by changing how their sperm worked and affecting the development of the placenta. This study highlights the importance of a healthy gut for future generations.

Argaw-Denboba A., Schmidt TSB., Di Giacomo M., Ranjan B., Devendran S., Mastrorilli E., Lloyd CT., Pugliese D., Paribeni V., Dabin J., Pisaniello A., Espinola S., Crevenna A., Ghosh S., Humphreys N., Boruc O., Sarkies P., Zimmermann M., Bork P., Hackett JA. Paternal microbiome perturbations impact offspring fitness. Nature. 2024 May;629(8012):652-659. doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07336-w. Epub 2024 May 1.